BREAKING! Death Of 4 Dugongs In Thailand Raises Concerns Of International Experts As To Whether H5N1 Could Be At Play!
H5N1 News: The recent reports of the discovery of 4 dead dugongs on the beaches in Krabi and Phang Nga which are Southern provinces in Thailand, has international researchers worried if H5N1 could be at play.
Death Of 4 Dugongs In Thailand Raises Concerns Of International
Experts As To Whether H5N1 Is Involved
The dugong sometimes referred to as ‘sea cows’ are an endangered marine mammal that is only found in the waters around South East Asia, South Asia, East Asia and also around Australia. It is closely related and bears some resemblance to the manatee.
Already there has been numerous
H5N1 News reports of various marine mammals including dolphins, whales, sea lions and seals being infected and killed by the Avian H5N1 virus across various geolocations in the world.
Thailand Medical experts and marine biologists so far have claimed that global warming could have been behind the deaths of these dugongs as the warmer sea water was causing the degradation of sea grass, causing these sea mammals to leave their protected habitats in search for food elsewhere.
A local marine biologist cum lecturer at Kasetsart University was the first to alert relevant agencies, media and the public about the dead dugongs and had posted the discovery of the dead dugongs on facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=8431212283560567&set=a.235339669814577
He commented on his facebook post, “The discovery of four dead dugongs within a five-day period is a [red alert] emergency. As far as I can remember, there had never been a time when dugongs died so frequently. I hope that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will devote all of its energy and budget to help and also study as to what is happening.”
According to reports, some of the dead carcasses are pending autopsies.
While locals claim that the dugongs probably died due to food shortage as they appeared to be thin and malnourished with numerous barnacles on them, international experts are warning that relevant test should be done immediately to assess if the H5N1 virus was involved.
While many neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar have reported about H5N1 in various poultry farms in their countries in the last 24 months, strangely …there has been not a single report of any H5N1 outbreak in any poultry farms in Thailand despite the fact that Thailand has numerous small and huge poultry farms scattered across the country and is a leading exporter of poultry products.
Also, it was reported that since the beginning of 2024, there has been numerous reports of dead dugongs washing up on various beaches in Thailand including the case of six dead dugongs found in the be
aches of Trang in recent months.
Local experts are attributing global warming as being the key factor behind the deaths of these dugongs as warmer climate has caused the degradation of seagrass in the lower parts of Krabi and Trang, the main habitat of dugongs, forcing them to seek new food sources in upper Krabi, Phangnga and Phuket, where unfortunately there are many tourist boats.
It was reported that Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is working with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and relevant agencies to study the matter and inform operators of boats and other businesses catering to tourists to be aware of dugongs.
However, except for one reported case where a dugong was hit by a speedboat, the rest of the cases of dead dugongs had nothing to do with being hit by boats. Furthermore, in that particular reported case, it was not known if that dugong was already dead before being hit.
In the earlier cases, it was not divulged if autopsies were done and if test for H5N1 were conducted.
International experts are hoping that proper tests would be carried out to ascertain as to whether or not H5N1 virus was involved in the deaths of these dugongs. Also, if these dugongs were positive for H5N1, there will be the critical need to conduct genomic sequencings and ascertain if any new mutations have emerged.
While the Southern provinces and islands of Thailand are a key tourism money earner for the country, should the H5N1 virus be involved, no data should be concealed or hidden as it poses a critical healthcare risk.
For the latest
H5N1 News, keep on logging to Thailand Medical News.
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